I am trying to write a program (console initialized) in C# that dynamically initializes a set of windows forms.
It's a tournament program that allows the user to manage multiple stations at once.
So, the best I've come up with is something like, say, the user wants to manage three stations.
TournamentForm[] T = new TournamentForm[3];
void startTournament()
{
for (int count = 0; count < t.length; count++)
{
T[count] = new TournamentForm();
T[count].show();
}
}
The inherent problem with this approach is that at the end of each loop, the form is closed.
Is there a means of dynamically initializing windows forms, or do I have to long code a maximum number of windows instances?
Hmm... I may have had an idea using recursion while writing this. Still posting the question in case there's a better answer.
So I have been using this forum as a thought board... Shoot me. I prefer holes shot in my ideas early on.
#Bas here is code that compiles
namespace Tournament_2._1
{
class Program
{
static MainWindow[] test = new MainWindow[2];
static void Main(string[] args)
{
StartTournament();
}
private static void StartTournament()
{
for (int count = 0; count < test.Length; count++)
{
test[count] = new MainWindow();
test[count].Show();
}
}
}
}
What I was missing while the for loop was in the Main() method (even while stepping through each line) was that the windows were being closed at the end of the Main() method, not at the end of each loop.
To try to manage this I have tried a couple ways of pausing the console, and none have been allowing focus on the forms.
Same problem, different location.
Is it a "Windows Forms Application" project?
In "Program.cs":
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new MainForm());
}
Add the button "btnStart" on MainForm.
For this button, add an event handler on click.
In MainForm.cs:
public partial class MainForm : Form
{
public MainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void btnStart_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Form[] t = new Form[3];
for (int count = 0; count < t.Length; count++)
{
t[count] = new Form();
t[count].Show();
}
}
}
This way, your forms will not close after the loop.
You are not showing all of your code, in fact, the code you are showing doesn't even compile... (Show instead of show). Without more code, all we can do is guess.
I speculate, but what I think happens is that you close your MainForm after you spawn the three forms, exiting the application, and closing the three forms you just created.
Related
I still have a problem with the splash screen. I don't want to use the property SC.TopMost=true.
Now my application scenario is as follows:
in progeram.cs:
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
new SplashScreen(_tempAL);// where _tempAL is an arrayList
Application.Run(new Form1(_tempAL));
}
in SplashScreen class:
public SplashScreen(ArrayList _Data)
{
DisplaySplash()
}
private void DisplaySplash()
{
this.Show();
this.TopMost = true;
this.CenterToScreen();
this.SetTopLevel(true);
_allServerNarrators = new string[10];
for (int i = 0; i < _allServerNarrators.Length; i++)
_allServerNarrators[i] = null;
GetFromServer();
this.Hide();
_serverData = new ArrayList();
_thisData.Add(_allServerNarrators);
_thisData.Add(_serverNarrators);
}
private void GetFromServer()
{
_serverNarrators = new ArrayList();
string _file = "Suras.serverNar";
if (!Directory.Exists("c:\\ASGAQuraan"))
Directory.CreateDirectory("c:\\ASGAQuraan");
while (counter < 4 && _serverFiles == null)
{
if (Download("c:\\ASGAQuraan", _ftpServerIP, _file))
{
StreamReader _strReader = new StreamReader
("c:\\ASGAQuraan\\"+_file,System.Text.Encoding.Default);
string _line = _strReader.ReadLine();
string _word;
while (true)
{
while (_line != null)
{
_word = _line.Substring(0, _line.IndexOf("*"));
int _narId = Convert.ToInt32(_word);
_line = _line.Substring(2);
int k = 0;
_serverNarratorNode = new ArrayList();
while (true)
{
int ind = _line.IndexOf("*");
if (ind > 0 && ind < _line.Length)
{
string str = _line.Substring(0, (ind));
if (k == 0)
{
_allServerNarrators[_narId] = str;
_serverNarratorNode.Add(str);
}
else
{
_serverNarratorNode.Add(str);
}
_line = _line.Substring(ind + 1);
k++;
}
else
{
_line = null;
break;
}
}
_serverNarrators.Add(_serverNarratorNode);
_serverFiles = "added";
}
_line = _strReader.ReadLine();
if (_line == null)
{
break;
}
}
}
else
counter++;
}
}
What I want is something in the splash screen class which waits until the thread finishes.
For more details, please tell me what I need to tell you.
Same question, same answer:
The .NET framework has excellent built-in support for splash screens. Start a new WF project, Project + Add Reference, select Microsoft.VisualBasic. Add a new form, call it frmSplash. Open Project.cs and make it look like this:
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using Microsoft.VisualBasic.ApplicationServices;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1 {
static class Program {
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args) {
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
new MyApp().Run(args);
}
}
class MyApp : WindowsFormsApplicationBase {
protected override void OnCreateSplashScreen() {
this.SplashScreen = new frmSplash();
}
protected override void OnCreateMainForm() {
// Do your time consuming stuff here...
//...
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(3000);
// Then create the main form, the splash screen will close automatically
this.MainForm = new Form1();
}
}
}
You've entered dangerous territory by creating UI prior to your call to Application.Run(). Application.Run is essentially your program's message pump. By displaying the UI before you start the application's message pump, you make typical UI interaction effectively impossible on the premature UI. For a splash screen this may not seem relevant, but it will matter if (e.g.) there's a request to make the splash screen disappear if it's clicked on, or you want to use a BackgroundWorker.
These can be worked around by creating a message pump in your splash screen (by making it modal via a call to ShowDialog() instead of Show()), but that's treating the symptom when treating the problem really isn't that difficult.
I'd strongly encourage nobugz's answer in this case. The framework provides the support you need. While features in the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace aren't always very discoverable to C# programmers, they can be a real timesaver and lifesaver for cases like this.
Good luck!
Following across 2 threads is a bit confusing, but I'm going to take a stab and say this...
I don't fully understand your design here, but if the issue is that when you launch a second application the splash screen form turns white... It's most likely due to the fact that splash screen is busy executing all of that code in GetFromServer(). So busy that it has no time to re-paint itself.
To remedy this problem I would suggest that you use the BackGroundWorker component to execute the GetFromServer method. This will run that method in a separate thread and leave the form's thread free to re-paint itself.
Unfortunately I don't have enough reputation to comment on someones answer yet. :( This is meant to be the answer to Colonel Panics comment on Hans Passants answer.
His problem was that a MessageBox shown from new FormMain(args)will be shown behind the splash screen. The key is to invoke the MessageBox from the thread the splash screen runs in:
splashScreen.Invoke(new Action(() => {
MessageBox.Show(splashScreen, "the message");
}));
Where splashScreen is a reference to the splash screen object that has been created in OnCreateSplashScreen and obviously has to be given to the new Form1 object.
You really should give more details about your problem. I could be completely wrong, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark. From what I'm imagining is going on and you want, you want the splash screen to show, do some processing in another thread, then the splash screen to go away when finished.
To do this, you're going to want to move the GetFromServer() call to a BackgroundWorker. Then move the
this.Hide();
_serverData = new ArrayList();
_thisData.Add(_allServerNarrators);
_thisData.Add(_serverNarrators);
code to the BackgroundWorker_RunWorkerCompleted event handler.
To use the BackgroundWorker:
1) Initialize the BackGroundWorker
BackgroundWorker myWorker = new BackgroundWorker();
2) Add event handlers
myWorker.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(myWorker_DoWork);
//put the work you want done in this one
myWorker.RunWorkerCompleted +=
new RunWorkerCompletedEventHandler(myWorker_RunWorkerCompleted);
//this gets fired when the work is finished
3) Add code to the event handlers.
4) Call myWorker.RunWorkerAsync() to start working.
As a separate note, you don't seem to be doing anything with the ArrayList that you're passing to the splash screen's constructor. Is this intended?
I'm very new to C#, and I'm trying to create a Windows Form Application that would create multiple instances of the same form and keep them in existence, and end them all on a certain keypress. Right now, I'm having some difficulties with keeping said forms from automatically closing. Since I'm new to c#, I have no idea why. I also have no idea where to look for a problem like this, so this question may be a duplicate. Here's my (probably severely butchered) main code so far (from the main file, in this case, Program.cs):
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Windows.Input;
namespace WindowsFormProgram1
{
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
///
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
for (int i = 0; i < 15; i++)
{
new Form1().Show();
Thread.Sleep(100);
}
}
}
}
Any answer would be appreciated greatly. As I mentioned before, I only have a rudimentary understanding of C#, and this may simply be a duplicate.
The problem is because your code ends sooner than you might think.
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
for (int i = 0; i < 15; i++)
{
new Form1().Show();
Thread.Sleep(100);
}
// code exit's here, thus closing all forms created.
}
To this, you can add an Application.Run() call at the end, which will cause the main thread to wait until the specified ApplicationContext exits; in most cases the context is a form, as in Application.Run(new Form1());, you just need to remember that the main thread will block (i.e. not continue) until Application.Run returns. So you could modify your code as such:
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
for (int i = 0; i < 14; i++) // <- note 14
{
new Form1().Show(); // will show the form
Thread.Sleep(100);
}
// This will show the form and block until the form is closed
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
Additionally, since you want to close all forms when a key is pressed, you could do something like the following:
public static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
for (int i = 0; i < 15; i++) {
Form1 f = new Form1();
f.KeyPress += new KeyPressEventHandler(f_KeyPress);
f.Show();
}
// Note, no `new Form1()`; this will block until Exit is called.
Application.Run();
}
static void f_KeyPress(object sender, KeyPressEventArgs e)
{
// This will exit when ANY key is pressed on ANY form
Application.Exit();
}
These are just a couple of ways to achieve what you want, there's also the Form.ShowDialog method, but since you're just learning, I'll leave other implementation details up to you.
I also have no idea where to look for a problem like this
The .NET Framework Development Guide has a lot of information on where to start and how to continue, as well the MSDN documentation on the .NET library is the reference to use when you're curious on the syntax or operation of a .NET class/function. There's also the Object Browser in Visual Studio that lets you view some of brief documentation.
Hope this can help.
Ok so I'm attempting to create a simple game. In a nutshell it's a resource management game where the player will attempt to manage a thieves guild. In regards to running missions I've created a Thief class, a new instance of which is created when a new thief is recruited. I have coded within the thief class the ability to gain experience and level up.
Here's my specific problem:
I want the player to be able to select which thief/thieves to send on a mission. I have thought about it and figured that opening a new form and populating it with checkboxes is the easiest way to allow this. These checkboxes will be related to a List<thief> of thieves, the player then checks the thieves s/he wants to send and these are then stored in another List<thief> and passed on to the run mission function.
I've built a separate project with the intention of testing and playing around with this before putting it into the main program. The test project consists of two forms: The first (frmMain) with a textbox to hold the selected options and a button to open the second form (frmSelect). Currently I can open and populate the second form (frmSelect) but when I try to add the checked options to the textbox I simply...well can't.
So far I have tried directly accessing the textbox by typing frmMain.txtOptionsDisplay in the cs file of frmSelect but it causes the following error:
An object reference is required for the non-static field, method or
property
I tried to create a new form in frmSelect and make it equal to the active instance of frmMain with: Form frmTemp = frmMain.ActiveForm; and then alter the textbox using frmTemp as a go-between but that produced the error:
'System.Windows.Forms.Form' does not contain a definition for
'txtOptionsDisplay'.
Having searched both google and stackoverflow forums I've encountered answers that I either have never heard of (Threading) or answers that I kind've recognise but can't interpret the code pasted to make it relevant to my problem (delegates).
Any advice or pointers would be fantastic.
EDIT:
frmMain code:
public frmMain()
{
InitializeComponent();
selections.Add("Option 1");
selections.Add("Option 2");
}
private void btnClick_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
frmSelectOptions.Show();
int length = selections.Count();
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++)
{
CheckBox box = new CheckBox();
box.Text = selections[i];
box.AutoSize = true;
box.Location = new Point(50, 50*(i+1));
frmSelectOptions.grpControls.Controls.Add(box);
}
}
public void updateText(string option)
{
txtOptionsDisplay.Text += option;
}
}
frmSelect code:
public List<CheckBox> selectedOptions = new List<CheckBox>();
Form frmTemp = frmMain.ActiveForm;
public frmSelect()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void btnSelect_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
foreach (CheckBox box in grpControls.Controls)
{
if (box.Checked == true)
selectedOptions.Add(box);
}
this.Hide();
}
}
I hope this formats correctly... I'm kinda new and don't know how to indent. Oh look there's a preview...
Does this help?
Your problem is that controls defined within a form by default receive the private access identifier. Hence you could just add a property along the lines of
public ControlType ProxyProperty {
get {
return txtOptionsDisplay;
}
}
Besides from that you should think about wether what you're trying is actually a good solution. Manipulating forms from one to another will become a huge clusterfuck in terms of maintenance later on.
I'd suggest using the Singleton pattern for your frmMain. This will help safeguard you from accidentally launching another instance of frmMain and at the same time, will give you access to frmMain's objects. From there, you can either write accessors to Get your txtOptionsDisplay or you can make it public. Below is an example:
public class frmMain
{
private static frmMain Instance = null;
private static object LockObj = new object();
public static frmMain GetMain()
{
// Thread-safe singleton
lock(LockObj)
{
if(Instance == null)
Instance = new frmMain();
return Instance;
}
}
public string GetOptionsDisplayText()
{
return txtOptionsDisplay.Text;
}
}
public class frmSelect
{
private void frmSelect_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Set whatever text you want to frmMain's txtOptionsDisplay text
txtDisplay.Text = frmMain.GetMain().GetOptionsDisplayText();
}
}
If you do go this route, don't forget to update Program.cs to use frmMain's singleton.
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
// Application.Run(new frmMain()); - Old method
Application.Run(frmMain.GetMain());
}
I have two C# winform (.NET 4.0) forms that each run separate but similar automated tasks continuously. Separate in that they are distinct processes/workflows, but similar enough in how they operate to share the same resources (methods, data models, assemblies, etc) in the project.
Both forms are complete, but now I'm not sure how to run the program so that each window opens on launch and runs independently. The program will be "always-on" when deployed.
This might seem a little basic, but most of my development experience has been web applications. Threading/etc is still a little foreign to me. I've researched but most of the answers I've found relate to user interaction and sequential use cases -- this will just be one system continuously running two distinct processes, which will need to interact with the world independently.
Potential solutions I've found might involve multi-threading, or maybe some kind of MDI, or a few folks have suggested the DockPanelSuite (although being in a super-corporate environment, downloading third party files is easier said than done).
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
// Rather than specifying frmOne or frmTwo,
// load both winforms and keep them running.
Application.Run(new frmOne());
}
}
You can create a new ApplicationContext to represent multiple forms:
public class MultiFormContext : ApplicationContext
{
private int openForms;
public MultiFormContext(params Form[] forms)
{
openForms = forms.Length;
foreach (var form in forms)
{
form.FormClosed += (s, args) =>
{
//When we have closed the last of the "starting" forms,
//end the program.
if (Interlocked.Decrement(ref openForms) == 0)
ExitThread();
};
form.Show();
}
}
}
Using that you can now write:
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new MultiFormContext(new Form1(), new Form2()));
If you really need two windows/forms to run on two separate UI threads, you could do something like this:
static class Program
{
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
var thread = new Thread(ThreadStart);
// allow UI with ApartmentState.STA though [STAThread] above should give that to you
thread.TrySetApartmentState(ApartmentState.STA);
thread.Start();
Application.Run(new frmOne());
}
private static void ThreadStart()
{
Application.Run(new frmTwo()); // <-- other form started on its own UI thread
}
}
Assumption
You do not need the two different processes, you are only using the 2 processes because you want to have the two different forms and want to be able to keep the application running until both forms are exited.
Another solution
Rely on the Form.Closed event mechanism. You can add an eventhandler which allows you to specify what to do when a form closes. E.g. exit the application when both forms are closed.
In terms of some code
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
_form2 = new Form2();
_form2.Show(this);
this.Closed += Form1Closed;
_form2.Closed += Form2Closed;
}
protected override void OnFormClosing(FormClosingEventArgs e)
{
e.Cancel = true;
Hide();
Form1Closed(this, new EventArgs());
base.OnFormClosing(e);
}
private void Form1Closed(object sender, EventArgs eventArgs)
{
form1IsClosed = true;
TryExitApplication();
}
private void Form2Closed(object sender, EventArgs eventArgs)
{
_form2IsClosed = true;
TryExitApplication();
}
private void TryExitApplication()
{
if (form1IsClosed && _form2IsClosed)
{
Dispose();
Application.Exit();
}
}
Note that this should be refactored to make it a better solution.
UPDATE
The comments provided by Servy made my revise this "supposed to be simple solution", which pointed out that his solution is way better then this solution. Since I am supported to leave the answer I will use this answer I will also address the issues that start arising when going for this solution:
cancelling close events
rerouting from one event to another
force calling Dispose.
as Servy pointed out: maintenance unfriendly (state to check which form is closed)
I still have a problem with the splash screen. I don't want to use the property SC.TopMost=true.
Now my application scenario is as follows:
in progeram.cs:
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
new SplashScreen(_tempAL);// where _tempAL is an arrayList
Application.Run(new Form1(_tempAL));
}
in SplashScreen class:
public SplashScreen(ArrayList _Data)
{
DisplaySplash()
}
private void DisplaySplash()
{
this.Show();
this.TopMost = true;
this.CenterToScreen();
this.SetTopLevel(true);
_allServerNarrators = new string[10];
for (int i = 0; i < _allServerNarrators.Length; i++)
_allServerNarrators[i] = null;
GetFromServer();
this.Hide();
_serverData = new ArrayList();
_thisData.Add(_allServerNarrators);
_thisData.Add(_serverNarrators);
}
private void GetFromServer()
{
_serverNarrators = new ArrayList();
string _file = "Suras.serverNar";
if (!Directory.Exists("c:\\ASGAQuraan"))
Directory.CreateDirectory("c:\\ASGAQuraan");
while (counter < 4 && _serverFiles == null)
{
if (Download("c:\\ASGAQuraan", _ftpServerIP, _file))
{
StreamReader _strReader = new StreamReader
("c:\\ASGAQuraan\\"+_file,System.Text.Encoding.Default);
string _line = _strReader.ReadLine();
string _word;
while (true)
{
while (_line != null)
{
_word = _line.Substring(0, _line.IndexOf("*"));
int _narId = Convert.ToInt32(_word);
_line = _line.Substring(2);
int k = 0;
_serverNarratorNode = new ArrayList();
while (true)
{
int ind = _line.IndexOf("*");
if (ind > 0 && ind < _line.Length)
{
string str = _line.Substring(0, (ind));
if (k == 0)
{
_allServerNarrators[_narId] = str;
_serverNarratorNode.Add(str);
}
else
{
_serverNarratorNode.Add(str);
}
_line = _line.Substring(ind + 1);
k++;
}
else
{
_line = null;
break;
}
}
_serverNarrators.Add(_serverNarratorNode);
_serverFiles = "added";
}
_line = _strReader.ReadLine();
if (_line == null)
{
break;
}
}
}
else
counter++;
}
}
What I want is something in the splash screen class which waits until the thread finishes.
For more details, please tell me what I need to tell you.
Same question, same answer:
The .NET framework has excellent built-in support for splash screens. Start a new WF project, Project + Add Reference, select Microsoft.VisualBasic. Add a new form, call it frmSplash. Open Project.cs and make it look like this:
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using Microsoft.VisualBasic.ApplicationServices;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1 {
static class Program {
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args) {
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
new MyApp().Run(args);
}
}
class MyApp : WindowsFormsApplicationBase {
protected override void OnCreateSplashScreen() {
this.SplashScreen = new frmSplash();
}
protected override void OnCreateMainForm() {
// Do your time consuming stuff here...
//...
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(3000);
// Then create the main form, the splash screen will close automatically
this.MainForm = new Form1();
}
}
}
You've entered dangerous territory by creating UI prior to your call to Application.Run(). Application.Run is essentially your program's message pump. By displaying the UI before you start the application's message pump, you make typical UI interaction effectively impossible on the premature UI. For a splash screen this may not seem relevant, but it will matter if (e.g.) there's a request to make the splash screen disappear if it's clicked on, or you want to use a BackgroundWorker.
These can be worked around by creating a message pump in your splash screen (by making it modal via a call to ShowDialog() instead of Show()), but that's treating the symptom when treating the problem really isn't that difficult.
I'd strongly encourage nobugz's answer in this case. The framework provides the support you need. While features in the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace aren't always very discoverable to C# programmers, they can be a real timesaver and lifesaver for cases like this.
Good luck!
Following across 2 threads is a bit confusing, but I'm going to take a stab and say this...
I don't fully understand your design here, but if the issue is that when you launch a second application the splash screen form turns white... It's most likely due to the fact that splash screen is busy executing all of that code in GetFromServer(). So busy that it has no time to re-paint itself.
To remedy this problem I would suggest that you use the BackGroundWorker component to execute the GetFromServer method. This will run that method in a separate thread and leave the form's thread free to re-paint itself.
Unfortunately I don't have enough reputation to comment on someones answer yet. :( This is meant to be the answer to Colonel Panics comment on Hans Passants answer.
His problem was that a MessageBox shown from new FormMain(args)will be shown behind the splash screen. The key is to invoke the MessageBox from the thread the splash screen runs in:
splashScreen.Invoke(new Action(() => {
MessageBox.Show(splashScreen, "the message");
}));
Where splashScreen is a reference to the splash screen object that has been created in OnCreateSplashScreen and obviously has to be given to the new Form1 object.
You really should give more details about your problem. I could be completely wrong, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark. From what I'm imagining is going on and you want, you want the splash screen to show, do some processing in another thread, then the splash screen to go away when finished.
To do this, you're going to want to move the GetFromServer() call to a BackgroundWorker. Then move the
this.Hide();
_serverData = new ArrayList();
_thisData.Add(_allServerNarrators);
_thisData.Add(_serverNarrators);
code to the BackgroundWorker_RunWorkerCompleted event handler.
To use the BackgroundWorker:
1) Initialize the BackGroundWorker
BackgroundWorker myWorker = new BackgroundWorker();
2) Add event handlers
myWorker.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(myWorker_DoWork);
//put the work you want done in this one
myWorker.RunWorkerCompleted +=
new RunWorkerCompletedEventHandler(myWorker_RunWorkerCompleted);
//this gets fired when the work is finished
3) Add code to the event handlers.
4) Call myWorker.RunWorkerAsync() to start working.
As a separate note, you don't seem to be doing anything with the ArrayList that you're passing to the splash screen's constructor. Is this intended?